< Back to previous page

Project

STIFF: Stiffness Tailored Implants for improved Fracture Fixation

Millions of fractures occur worldwide of which a significant number is treated operatively. Despite advancements in the fields of biomechanics and production technology, the plates and screws used for operative fixation have barely changed since the 1960’s. Using these materials, surgeons unfortunately tend to create overly stiff fixations that can lead to impaired healing. Additionally, although patients have different fracture morphologies, perform different activities of daily living and have different muscle capacity, they are all treated with the same generic plates with fixed stiffness. The goal of this project is to improve fracture treatment by identifying the necessary stiffness both in space and time to ensure good bone healing. In a first stage, this knowledge will be used to biomechanically optimize titanium fixation plates to the needs of individual patients. In a second stage, resorbable implants will be developed to enable the use of time-dependent stiffness profiles in the treatment of fractures. In order to achieve this goal, an interdisciplinary consortium has been composed. Biomechanics (BMe) will be responsible to model the individual required stiffness for optimal fracture healing. Traumatology (UZ Leuven) will gather prospective x-rays to follow up fracture healing in varying post-operative loading regimes, these x-rays will be used for model validation. Production engineering (MaPS) will explore the flexible forming and joining of biodegradable materials in configurations with variable composition.
Date:1 Oct 2021 →  Today
Keywords:fracture fixation, patient-specific treatment, fracture healing modelling, resorbable implants, innovative forming technology
Disciplines:Device biomechanics, Manufacturing systems, Biomedical modelling, Traumatology